


Please

by UchiHime



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Magic Revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 11:11:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/848860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UchiHime/pseuds/UchiHime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Please, just... please.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Please

“Please, just… Please.” The words were barely more than a whisper, but Merlin knew Arthur heard them loud and clear in the silence of the cell.

Merlin was tired. So very tired. Things had gone so wrong. Merlin had been trying to help Arthur. To protect him. That was all he’d ever wanted to do. That was all he’d ever done. “Please, Arthur,” he begged. He didn’t have the strength to raise his voice any louder. He felt so tired. So small. So weak. It was like a great pressure was pushing down on him and it was heavier that anything he’d ever felt before. Heavier than his secret. Heavier than his destiny. Heavier than the steel cuffs keeping him bound.

“No,” Arthur’s voice was just as soft. It was shaky. Unsure. As if the prince didn’t know what to say or believe. “I don’t know you, Merlin. I don’t know you at all.”

“I was trying to help you!” It could be taken as a yell, though it was more of a sob. A cry for understanding. A plea to be forgiven.

“You were using magic!” That was a yell. Anger. Disgust. Disbelief. But no understanding. Magic was unforgivable.

“I was trying to protect you. That’s all I’ve ever done. I never hurt anyone. I never plotted against Camelot. I’ve done nothing but protect you.”

Arthur sighed and Merlin thought he’d softened a bit. Maybe the truth of his words was finally getting through to the prince. “It does not matter what use you put it to, the fact remains that you have magic.”

“So, I’m to die for something I was born with?” He felt defeated. They were going in circles. “Arthur, you can’t do this. You can’t let him kill me. I thought…” Merlin paused for just a brief second, suddenly unsure about his next words. “I thought I meant something to you. I thought you cared for me, maybe even loved me.”

Arthur half turned away from Merlin as if those softly spoken words were a blow that left him reeling. They had never applied the word “love” to their relationship before.

Sometimes the nights were long and cold. Sometimes Arthur felt lonely. But Merlin was always there for him. A warm body. A gentle soul. It wasn’t unheard of for nobles to bed servants, though Merlin’s gender would cause some to pause. Their nights spent together were about comfort. About not being alone. They didn’t say the word “love” because it wasn’t needed.

But Merlin felt it. He loved Arthur and he was sure the prince felt the same and that was all he had to hang his hope on. If Arthur loved him, he wouldn’t let him die.

“You enchanted me,” Arthur finally said.

This time, it was Merlin who felt a hard blow in soft words. “I did no such thing!” He snapped back. How dare Arthur doubt his love. He could doubt his honor, his loyalty, his morals, but Arthur had no right to doubt his love. That was the one thing in which Merlin had never wavered. 

“You enchanted me,” Arthur said again. “With you clumsy actions, and your foolish words, and your reckless decisions, and your pure heart. Every second you spent by my side, you were enchanting me. With or without magic, I do not care, but I know you enchanted me. And I am still under you spell. Why else would I be doing something like this?” 

Merlin watched in disbelief as Arthur unhooked the key to Merlin’s cell from his belt and passed it through the bars. Merlin grasped the key with both hands, holding it to his chest as if it was something precious.

“Arthur…”

“You are not to return to Camelot, Merlin,” Arthur said, his voice hard and distant. “If you are seen anywhere within these borders, you will be put to death. Am I clear?”

A pain like a ball of sharp wires caught his Merlin’s throat. He nodded his head in understanding and kept it bowed so that he would not have to look at Arthur. “My former home in Ealdor is right outside the borders. I’ll return to my mother. I won’t be seen in Camelot again.”

Arthur nodded and stepped away from the gate separating him and Merlin. He stood there for a second, as if he was wrestling with the correct words to say. “For what it’s worth, I’ll be hard pressed to find another servant as good as you.”

It was as close to the word love as Arthur was going to come and Merlin accepted that. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t entirely hate being your servant.” Because Merlin as already said the word once and that was enough.

Their eyes met for the first time and a ghost of a smile flitted across Arthur’s lips. Then the prince turned and was gone.


End file.
